As one of the leading blogger outreach agencies, we have to make email outreach work for our clients every day. Our unique position also gives us an opportunity to see numerous guest post pitches from other Internet marketers and it constantly surprises us to see how many people get guest post outreach horribly wrong. If you want high-quality links from the most authoritative websites in your field and you want to get those links in volume outsourcing your link building efforts will produce the best results. If you want to go alone, though, these are the email outreach techniques that work.

The Problem With Guest Posting

If you’ve ever attempted to pitch guest posts to other websites, you’ve probably noticed that guest posting isn’t always as easy as people make it sound. Owners of popular websites receive pitches for guest posts almost every day. Most of the time, they won’t even reply to you.

How do you break through the static? The one thing that outreach posts almost always lack is true personalization. People conducting outreach often don’t take the time to personalize their messages. Instead, they simply try to reach as many website owners as possible. Website owners, on the other hand, ignore outreach emails because they know that hundreds of other website owners are receiving the same messages.

If you want your outreach messages to receive better response rates, you’ll need to tailor them to the people receiving them.

Research Your Target

Before crafting your pitch, you should know as much as you can about the target. What has he or she written about recently? What type of content would interest that person and his or her readers? Popular websites always need new content, but you need to show that you’re prepared to create the type of value that the website’s audience wants.

Brainstorm Article Topics

If you’ve done your research and understand the target website, you should have a good idea of what will appeal to the website’s readers. Many Internet marketers come up with a few potential article titles to suggest to their target websites. Alternatively, you could choose just one article title, write the article and attach it to the pitch. Try both methods, and find out what works for you.

Personalize Your Pitch

When it’s time to write your pitch, you need to personalize it as much as possible for the recipient. Begin by finding the recipient’s email address if you can. Sending your pitch through email rather than a web form increases the chance that the recipient will read it. Don’t forget to address the pitch to a specific name. Beginning a pitch with “Dear website owner” almost guarantees that the recipient won’t read it.

The body of your pitch is where you’ll begin to put your research to work. Say something about the website to indicate that you’ve actually visited it and read its content — that you didn’t just pull it from a list of influential domains. Flattering the website owner may help you to get his or her attention, but be careful. People who send the same pitch to hundreds of websites often insert generic phrases such as, “I think that your website is a wonderful resource.” If you’re going to use flattery, it has to seem sincere.

If your target recognizes your name, it’ll increase the likelihood of him or her opening your pitch. Before sending your pitch, try following the target on social media and commenting on some of his or her posts.

Provide Value

In any guest posting pitch, the most important thing to do is provide value for your target and his or her audience. If you’re trying to land a guest spot on a popular website, it’s likely that the website owner receives several pitches every day. What can you provide that’s unique? Are you willing to write an epic article that’ll serve as the Internet’s most comprehensive guide on a topic? Do you have original research to share? If you can provide something truly great — and entirely original — you’ll have success when looking for guest blog opportunities.